REG - EQTEC PLC - Formal launch of EQTEC business in France

EQTECAnnouncement

14/03/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 5853E  EQTEC PLC  14 March 2022

14 March 2022

EQTEC plc

("EQTEC", the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Formal launch of EQTEC business in France

to address growing pipeline including treatment of contaminated plastic waste

 

EQTEC plc (AIM: EQT), a world-leading technology innovation company enabling
the Net Zero Future through advanced solutions for hydrogen, biofuels, SNG and
other energy production, is pleased to announce the launch of a subsidiary
company in France, together with completion of a collaboration agreement for
handling of contaminated plastic waste.

 

Collaboration for clean energy from contaminated plastic waste

The Company has signed a Strategic Collaboration Agreement (the "Agreement")
with SEPS SAS ("SEPS"), a French company specialising in the management and
recycling of industrial waste (together, the "Parties"). The Agreement
confirms the Parties' shared intent to pursue development of contaminated
waste treatment plants that apply the combined capabilities of SEPS and EQTEC
technologies with initial interest focused on specific, offtake applications
including electricity, heat, combined cooling, heat & power (CCHP) and
biofuels.

 

Completion of the Agreement follows the announcement on 1 February 2022 that
the Parties signed a Letter of Intent in December 2021 as a first step toward
full collaboration, also indicating their intention to pursue deployment of
both Parties' technologies at an on-premise, industrial facility in
Haute-Garonne, France (the "Project"). The Agreement reaffirms the intention
to pursue the Project as the first focus for the collaboration, at a site
already owned by SEPS. The Project would construct and commission a plant for
transformation of contaminated plastic waste into clean syngas, applying both
Parties' technologies. The Agreement further expresses the intent to identify,
pursue and replicate success with the Project at other locations.

 

The Agreement also follows the Company's successful completion of a series of
tests on contaminated plastics, undertaken with SEPS at EQTEC's technology
innovation facility in France through its partnership with the Université de
Lorraine.

 

Launch of EQTEC France

To support a growing pipeline of opportunities in France, including the
Project and other potential opportunities with SEPS, the Company has
formalised its entry into the French market with establishment of EQTEC France
SAS ("EQTEC France"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of EQTEC plc. As announced in
its interim results in September 2021, the Company has taken note of a highly
active and accelerating interest in cleantech from the French national,
regional and local governments and from potential lenders and development
partners in France. Since then, the Company has been presented with a number
of opportunities and strong encouragement from French stakeholders that
suggest France will be a market of strong demand for EQTEC technology.

 

The Company has defined a further pipeline in France of a dozen opportunities
and is bidding on three projects, including a waste-to-power project and two
waste-to-biofuels projects. The development of these projects is progressing
through collaboration with two, established owner-operators, each with
significant waste and energy infrastructure experience and holdings in France.
The Company will notify the market in due course about the progress of these
bids.

 

EQTEC France is the third, formal, go-to-market entity established by the
Company, following establishment of two, majority-owned joint ventures:
Synergy Projects d.o.o. for Croatia in July 2021 and Synergy Projects Limited
for Greece and the Aegean in September 2021. Establishment of the France
subsidiary represents another step in the Company's formalisation of
go-to-market entities to support deployment of its technologies and manage
local pipelines, partnerships and projects in a number of geographies where
there is growing interest in replacing traditional, baseload energy solutions
with EQTEC's unique capabilities. The Company intends to announce additional
entities in other target markets later this year.

 

To lead EQTEC France, the Company has appointed David Le Saint, who has been
working in France with the Company since July 2021. David's application of
deep experience within project finance, venture capital and investment,
together with his wide network of stakeholders, have resulted in rapid
development of a diverse pipeline of opportunities in France, backed by the
support of some of France's largest financial institutions. David's 20-plus
years' of experience includes roles in financial analysis, private equity and
investment banking with JP Morgan Securities-Acofi, ABN AMRO and Hoche
Inovalis Partners. He has overseen transactions across Europe and managed a
mezzanine fund of €250 million, deploying capital in renewable energy,
capital regulatory and real estate transactions. Just prior to joining EQTEC,
he set up and led the international real asset investment management practice
of a multi-billion-pound, single family office. David is a member of the Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyor (MRICS) and holds degrees from Cass Business
School, Paris II Pantheon-Assas University and the University of Cambridge.

 

David Palumbo, CEO of EQTEC, commented:

"Formalisation of our market entry into France is a big step as we focus on
building a pipeline of go-to-market entities and future licensors, each with a
pipeline of projects. France is a major market with a strong history in
progressive investment and development of new energy and we believe this will
prove true also for baseload renewables such as clean syngas. As a leader in
clean syngas production, we are proud to set our sights first on contaminated,
plastic waste, in partnership with our colleagues at SEPS, who have a strong
track record with this feedstock. We are also proud that our France market
entry was made possible not only by David Le Saint's tireless leadership
there, but also on the strength of our R&D programme at the Université de
Lorraine. The work we do together in France will make a direct contribution to
reduction of rising volumes of plastic waste, transforming it into baseload
energy and biofuels."

 

Laurent Rousseau, CEO of SEPS, commented:

"This collaboration with EQTEC has been very well prepared over the past
months, based on thorough review of one another's technologies and culminating
in joint testing at the EQTEC facility at Université de Lorraine. It is based
on the proven success with contaminated plastic waste-to-syngas production we
witnessed in situ that we are so happy to proceed. SEPS has a strong history
with treatment of contaminated plastics, but with EQTEC's leading syngas
technology, we now see many doors opening for market growth and development in
France and beyond. Our commitment to clean treatment of contaminated waste,
together with EQTEC's transformation of that waste into clean syngas will now
support a range of applications for power, hydrogen and biofuels in support of
local, energy security and fossil fuel replacement."

 

This announcement follows previous announcements, including on 28 September
2021 that the Company had identified potential projects for biomass-to-energy
and for gasification of industrial and contaminated waste and in its Q4 2021
Trading Update, EQTEC stated that it had: formed the alliance with SEPS;
progressed negotiations to a development agreement towards financial close for
the Biomasse31 project; and identified an additional five project
opportunities for a range of biomass, RDF and other feedstock, as well as a
range of offtake applications.

 

This announcement contains inside information as defined in Article 7 of the
EU Market Abuse Regulation No 596/2014 and has been announced in accordance
with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of that Regulation.

 

ENQUIRIES

 EQTEC plc                                                     +44 203 883 7009
 David Palumbo / Nauman Babar

 Strand Hanson - Nomad & Financial Adviser                     +44 20 7409 3494
 James Harris / James Dance

 Arden Partners - Joint Broker                                 +44 20 7614 5900
 Paul Shackleton (Corporate) / Simon Johnson (Sales)

 Canaccord Genuity - Joint Broker                              +44 20 7523 8000
 Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor / James Asensio / Patrick Dolaghan

 Alma PR - Financial Media & Investor Relations                +44 20 3405 0205
 Josh Royston / Sam Modlin                                     EQTEC@almapr.co.uk (mailto:EQTEC@almapr.co.uk)

 BECG - General Media Enquiries                                +44 7554 014 188 / +44 7867 452 269
 Carrie Lowe / Tom Gosschalk                                   EQTEC@BECG.com (mailto:EQTEC@BECG.com)

 

About EQTEC plc

As one of the world's most experienced gasification technology and engineering
companies, with a growing track record of delivering operational and
commercial success for transforming waste-to-energy through best-in-class
technology innovation, engineering and project development, EQTEC brings
together design innovation, project delivery discipline and solid commercial
experience to add momentum to the global energy transition. EQTEC's proven,
proprietary and patented technology is at the centre of clean energy projects,
sourcing local waste, championing local businesses, creating local jobs and
supporting the transition to localised, decentralised and resilient energy
systems.

 

EQTEC designs, supplies and builds advanced gasification facilities in the UK,
EU and US, with highly efficient equipment that is modular and scalable from
1MW to 30MW. EQTEC's versatile solutions process over 50 varieties of
feedstock, including forestry wood waste, vegetation and other agricultural
waste from farmers, industrial waste and sludge from factories and municipal
waste, all with no hazardous or toxic emissions. EQTEC's solutions produce a
pure, high-quality synthesis gas ("syngas") that can be used for the widest
range of applications, including the generation of electricity and heat,
production of synthetic natural gas (through methanation) or biofuels (through
Fischer-Tropsch, gas-to-liquid processing) and reforming of hydrogen.

 

EQTEC's technology integration capabilities enable the Group to lead
collaborative ecosystems of qualified partners and to build sustainable waste
reduction and green energy infrastructure around the world.

 

The Company is quoted on AIM (ticker: EQT) and the London Stock Exchange has
awarded EQTEC the Green Economy Mark, which recognises listed companies with
50% or more of revenues from environmental/green solutions.

 

Further information on the Company can be found at www.eqtec.com
(http://www.eqtec.com/) .

 

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